I REVIEW THE NEW, “IMPROVED” BURGER KING WHOPPER: It takes two hands (unless you’re me.)
August 17, 2026
OPEN THREAD: Monday, Monday.
WELL, IT IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: NASA funds spherical ‘Aerobots’ that could explore the caves of Saturn’s moon Titan.
SENDING PRAYERS AND GOOD WISHES:
.@BradOnMessage is my dearest friend. Has been for 20 yrs. Wrote a bestseller together in & are in the process of writing our second when the rare cancer that stuck him 6 yrs ago did the unthinkable & came back–he's in surgery & could use all the prayers https://t.co/19leotcgHF
— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) August 18, 2026
This, by the way, is the Brad Todd who wrote that terrific 109 Minutes essay right after 9/11.
WELL, IT’S A GOOD THING: Ancient Humans May Have Evolved a Remarkable Trick to Survive The Last Ice Age.
YES LISA, WOMEN DO STRANGLE:
Yes, women do strangle. Their methods of killing young children are often by suffocating or strangling. Do these women not read or do any research? Maybe start here: https://t.co/5jqUZYtwgA https://t.co/Ev5wut5Ir9
— Helen Smith (@HelenSmithPhD) August 17, 2026
VICTORIA TAFT: Trump’s Messaging on the Mullahs Could Be as Powerful as a GBU-57. “He needs to keep up the information war. And all he has to do is tell the truth.”
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO: In-person, open-mike, no-holds-barred Town Halls in which citizens ask the senators or representatives why they voted they way they did in Congress on issues important to their state or district? Suddenly in August 2026, almost nobody in Congress is holding these VIP events.
ANSWERING A QUESTION THAT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME: Is layering deodorants worth it? We asked dermatologists.
NIFTY: Newest Drone Killer: AI Rifle Scopes. “‘Smart rifle’ technology seems to have finally arrived in the form of an “AI” enhanced scope that still requires you to pull the trigger, but picks the optimal time to actually fire to take out drones.”
Would it work on woodpeckers? Asking for a friend.
JON OSSOFF’S GROSS INSINUATION ABOUT TRUMP AND ASSISTANT GETS DEMOLISHED — INCLUDING BY TRUMP:
Robby Starbuck pointed out how Natalie Harp had survived bone cancer because of the Right to Try Act that Trump signed into law.
Natalie Harp is a bone cancer survivor who only lived because Trump greenlit the right to try an experimental treatment when you were terminal. I met her back then. She went to work for him after recovery. @ossoff is a vile coward for insinuating they’re having an affair. He… https://t.co/4LpsWGXCLN
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 17, 2026
“He should apologize to Natalie for doing this. I don’t think any of us would want our daughters talked about like this,” Starbuck said.
Then Trump himself nuked Ossoff into next week. His response was perhaps the best. He refused to give Ossoff the response he wanted.
President Trump called Jon Osoff 'Pee-wee Herman' 🤣 in response to Osoff taking shots at a far more successful Natalie Harp.
"You mean Pee-wee Herman?" pic.twitter.com/3bPXHUofFR
— J (@JayTC53) August 17, 2026
Instead, Trump just dismissed Ossoff as “Pee Wee Herman,” saying they had more important things to do than deal with Ossoff. So if Ossoff was trying to get his goat, that was the best response, treating him like the joke that he is.
Trump’s nicknames for his opponents have a tendency to be permanent – I hope it was worth it for those who program his teleprompter:
In all seriousness though, while I’m sure this felt good for Ossoff’s staff to write into the teleprompter and see their boss read it, this is such an unforced error—why brand yourself as “Guy who goes around spreading untrue rumors about female staffers banging their boss” ? —… https://t.co/DIozcq6XeL
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) August 17, 2026
Tweet concludes, “it tells me everyone in the Ossoff campaign is letting the 2028 hype go to their head way too much and way too quickly. Not ready for prime time.”
MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT [VIP]: All I Need Now Is a Letter of Marque and a Sloop of War.
GREAT MOMENTS IN HARD-HITTING JOURNALISM:
.@politico going full Fox Butterfield. Becerra is going to be the next governor precisely *because* no one knows what he thinks. And he intends to keep it that way, refusing to debate Hilton.
He's like what Nancy Pelosi said about Obamacare: pass it to find out what's in it. pic.twitter.com/0yHaMpSKid
— Joel Engel (@joelengel) August 17, 2026
Presumably, Becerra serves as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views, to coin a phrase.
IT’S ONE OF THOSE ISSUES EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT BUT NOBODY WILL DO ANYTHING ABOUT: US bases ‘ill-equipped’ to stop drone attacks, NORAD deputy says.
IF ONLY MORE DEMOCRATS WOULD HAVE STROKES LIKE HIS: Fetterman Torches His Own Party After Poll Exposes Its Socialism Problem.
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HE LOOKS LIKE HE’S AUDITIONING FOR MEPHISTOPHELES IN ‘FAUST’: Palestinian-American Professor calls for “Death to Zionists Everywhere”, says they “Worship the Devil”
SCENES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Engaging, culturally relevant and useless: Teachers aren’t trained to teach writing.
When he took master’s degree courses at Teachers’ College, Columbia, Hunt thought his charismatic graduate-school professor would explain how to teach writing in The Teaching of Writing class. Nope. “Every class discussion found its way to the subjects of power and identity,” writes Hunt. There was “Writing As Social Action,” but nothing on how to give effective feedback to students.
“Literacy” has become “a general skill that could be bolted onto any domain or concept,” he learned. That opened the door to “digital literacy, critical literacy, media literacy, and something we talked about ad nauseum called racial literacy.”
Traditional literacy was considered outmoded and oppressive.
Of course.
MINITRUE IS FULLY OPERATIONAL ON AIRSTRIP ONE:
Fucking mental https://t.co/4BLcnbYOD1
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) August 17, 2026
HOW ONE GOP LOCAL ASPIRANT RESPONDED TO ICE: Orlando Sanchez is an Hispanic-American seeking election in November as a Republican to be the next Harris County (Houston, Texas) County Judge seat. The Texas megatropolis has in recent years trended strongly to the Democrats on congressional and local office contests.
Sanchez is seen as an unusually strong GOP contender, however, and his recent oped in the Houston Chronicle addressing an ICE shooting that killed a local undocumented immigrant is a solid illustration of why Sanchez could well be a Republican bright-spot of the 2026 mid-term elections. Here’s the heart of his oped:
“In moments like this, some will demand that we choose between compassion and the rule of law. I reject that choice. A person’s immigration status does not erase his humanity. A badge does not erase accountability. And grief does not erase the need for facts.
“The most dangerous thing a leader can do after a tragedy is decide too quickly what the tragedy means. Some will use this shooting to condemn every law enforcement officer. Others will see the badge involved and excuse whatever happened before the evidence is known. Both instincts are wrong because they replace judgment with politics which weakens public trust.
“Harris County needs a steady hand. We need an investigation the public can trust. This includes evidence that is preserved, witnesses who are protected, agency actions that are reviewed, and facts that are followed wherever they lead. If video exists, secure it. If reports were filed, review them. If witnesses saw something different from the official account, hear them before they are removed and sent beyond the reach of investigators. That is how justice works.”
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